I live in Australia and the available z-wave products is virtually nonexistent due to the different radio frequencies. What is available here is very very expensive.
They have a wifi camera c/w motion detector listed for $299 AUD, I intend to purchase this device for inside my house but I need an external camera as well, there are currently no motion detectors (internal or external) available in OZ.
My question is can Vera be triggered by the motion detector on a third party web camera? The idea would be to purchase an external third party camera for outside the house.
I have purchased the Panasonic BL-C160A. It has a built-in motion detector. As far as Vera is concerned when I set up the camera I didn’t see a way to control or activate the motion portion. I did use the software that came with the camera however to select the resolution and the motion activity and the frequency that it would take pictures. I set the motion on and as a default, I set it to take a picture each hour on the hour. Again, that was the GUI that came with the camera no Vera.
After that, I was in a situation like you are, I thought it wasn’t working and since I’m a noobie I gave up. Then one day I logged into findvera.com I selected the “Camera” link and then selected the camera. It showed me a calendar and next to it were times and a number. The number was how many times the camera took a still picture (based on motion or on the hour). You can click the time and see them all. So apparently it is working as advertised. Take a look at this screenshot:
I like how your camera is power over ethernet, I will have to have a look at it for my exteranl camera.
My biggest problems are there are currently no z-wave motion sensors available in Australia.
Another option I am looking at is mounting the z-series cameras into one of those plastic domes and use it outside. The camera is being mounted in the back corner of a 2 meter by 2 meter porch so all should be good.
Has anyone tried out the DropCam to see if it interoperates in any way with Vera?
Leo Laporte recommended this pricey but versatile gem on one of his podcasts (The Daily Giz Wiz), and it got me to thinking that MCV would do well to offer “online recording” like the DropCam does (for extra money!).
Since Vera only deals with still photos, I imagine server space and bandwidth involved would be minimal.
Anyway… any DropCam users? I’m not at all certain this camera even offers a “JPEG URL” (required by Vera).
[quote=“LibraSun, post:4, topic:166446”]Has anyone tried out the DropCam to see if it interoperates in any way with Vera?
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Anyway… any DropCam users? I’m not at all certain this camera even offers a “JPEG URL” (required by Vera).[/quote]
Bumping this thread.
I have a dropcam and I don’t think it does, but I assume it uses http to push the data to dropcam.com’s servers. I could be wrong.
Anyone have any success getting dropcam to work with vera at all?
Many cams in the price range you mention should have an I/O contact output for motion control. So when the cam senses motion, it would be able to close the I/O contact so you can switch a DVR into real time speed. DVR’s have a trigger input for this function.
I use this I/O to wire into my alarm panel as a zone door contact. Then Vera can use this as a trigger for scenes or whatnot. In faxt, my cams also have I/O input which when tripped, can have the camera take a snapshot, send email, and also record video for a specified time as well. I paid $250 USD for my cams in HK. Check out iPUX ICS2330.